1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC (integrated circuit) card and to a financial transaction processing system using the IC card. More particularly, the invention relates to an IC card which is capable of storing, a part or all of the financial transaction data which is used to carry out a financial transaction at an automatic transaction processing unit. A user conducts at least a portion of the operations which are normally conducted by the user at the automatic transaction processing unit at the IC card itself, in advance of a visit to the automatic transaction processing unit. Thus, data necessary for a transaction with a financial institution such as a bank or credit company can be at least partially or entirely entered in the IC card prior to visiting the automatic transaction processing unit, thereby reducing the time required at an automatic transaction processing unit to complete the processing of a transaction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, magnetic cards such as so-called cash cards and credit cards have been widely used for payments, deposits, transfers and the like financial transactions through an on line system at a financial institution such as a bank or a credit company. Data for identifying a customer, such as a secret number, or other identifying data, is magnetically stored on the card. When a transaction is to be performed, a customer visits an automatic transaction processing unit, typically located at a bank or other convenient location, with his card. The card is then inserted into an automatic transaction processing unit such as an automatic teller maching (ATM) or a cash dispenser (CD) installed at the bank or other location. At the automatic transaction processing unit the customer enters into the unit data necessary for a transaction such as the secret number, the kind of transaction desired, and a transaction amount. This data is entered by operating data entry means such as a keyboard in accordance with predetermined procedures. Such automatic transaction processing units have become widely known and are operated directly by the customers as on line terminal units. A single automatic transaction processing unit is typically now capable of performing a wide variety of transactions such as deposit and withdrawal processing, balance inquiries, bank book entries, and transfer transactions in addition to payment processing. As a consequence, users are now required to perform an increased number of operations for each transaction such as the selection of the kind of transaction, amount, the various accounts among and to which funds are being transferred, etc., resulting in the time required per transaction being increased.
Moreover, the transactions themselves are becoming more complex, even with advanced automatic transaction processing units, and inexperienced customers may fail to complete all of the desired transaction processing operations by themselves. As a consequence, the operating efficiency of automatic transaction processing units has been lowered and it is often now necessary to provide assistance to a customer operating such a unit.
In addition, a conventional magnetic card and systems employing the same are sometimes subjected to unauthorized use through theft, loss and the like. This unauthorized use usually occurs at an automatic transaction processing unit such as an ATM or CD where there is no person in attendance. Of course, even with an unauthorized use of the automatic transaction processing units, a secret number must be known to the unauthorized user, but it is sometimes possible to decode the information stored on the conventional magnetic card since the secret number of a user tends to comprise a code with which the user is familiar such as a birth date, telephone number, or the like. Consequently, an unauthorized user, familiar with a customer possessing a valid card, might be able to assume the secret number.